This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Due to my dual roles as the leader of the Hawaii Pacific University Shared Instrumentation INBRE Core and that as a junior investigator, I have had to balance two sets of responsibilities. For context, it is first important to note that due to issues with the sub-contract, HPU did not receive funds until late December 2010. Unfortunately, the university presently has no organized mechanism for advanced funding and thus, to some degree, our start was delayed. However, with construction of a new on-campus BL2 bioassay lab complete and assays to begin this week, I will be able to allocate much more of my time into my waixenicin A analogue project. Because HPU has no consistent policy in place to provide new faculty hires with "start-up" funds the INBRE II funding has been invaluable in supplying me with the necessary equipment and supplies to start my independent research career. Thus, a significant amount of time has also been spent researching various resources of materials and supplies. Three young researchers have recently been brought on board to the project and their training has begun. In this training endeavor, I have also begun to produce a collection of training videos that teach laboratory skills and techniques specific to natural product synthesis. We are also collecting modest quantities of natural Waixencin A for derivatization and thus one of the very first tasks was to initiate efforts towards the collection of its source, soft coral Sarcothelia edmondsoni, as well as the subsequent purification of waixenicin A.